Derek Chirnside

Decided to start a new thread, since where else do you say farewell at the end of a workshop??  I think I have never managed to finish my thinking in line with the end of a SCoPE workshop before, and this is the same.  It's been a nice month, if a little hard to keep up most weeks.

I still smile at the word of the month: Blurk.  I had never heard of this before.   

I have learned a lot about blogging tools, it is odd the several I read for specific friends - fragments from past interactions - just never really featured.  (Xanga, Multiply and Vox)  It really came down to elgg and Livejournal and blogmeister.

I learned a bit about accessibility.  Had a look at some computers near my office set up for this purpose.  (I had never given this a thought B4)

I know there were a couple (or more) of questions we have not answered, but that's life.  One about WebCT/Bb.  I'm just not going to bother with blogs inside WebCT/Bb - they need some work to bring them up to spec to be even able to deserve the label blog.

How have we done?  This is important to me - Have we managed to put blogs under the microscope and dissect them and still leave the specialness of this medium intact, and not loose it's life and creativity?  Yes, in my opinion.  But we are still very much in the infancy of understanding the effect of this new environment.  Sylvia, I suggest a Blogs II "Have we made any progress with Blogs in the last year?"  in 12 months.

The metaphors are all there: fires, incubation, hotbeds, creative . .   

Thanks Micheal, you have worked hard I can tell.  I've enjoyed meeting your students.  And all the rest of you.

-Derek

This is a very interesting question.  I had a conversation several hours ago with someone I thought was an economist - and I spent some time fruitlessly looking for some blogs in this area in preparation.

As it transpired, he is a lecturer in health economics.  I think this is going to be a fun project.  The economics of obesity is one topic.  Can you buy health?

I will probably never come back here and post, But Emma, if you want to contact me again in a month.

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This has been my first serious case in my new role here in a university rather than a College of Education involving blogs and a client wanting to do something innovative.  I have been pondering how to set up the meeting to cover off the critical areas.  In the college there was MUCH more awareness of blogs and indeed appreciation of their value in teaching and learning.  There are several other projects in the wind.

I had these points in mind to talk over:

Project planning:

1. Number of students, level and subject
2. Blogs: do you blog?  Contact with blogs?
3. Reason for blogs as an option.  What can blogs as a tool offer?
4. OK: compulsory or optional?
5. Assessment?  is credit to be given?  How much?  How judged?
   
6. Blogs: public or not?
7. Introducing blogs as a medium/thought structure.  What process/strategy?  Scaffolding for use.
   
8. (Ethics, style, number of posts, expectations . . .)
9. Platform?
10. Policies?

Reflections after today: For this case.  Is it worth taking 2 weeks to introduce blogs, even if a week is taken up just reading blogs of any kind.  In conjunction with a forum in the course management area.  (decided yes)
In week 2 we are going to all read two top blogs in the economics area and compare and contrast them.  And practice a bit in the privacy of our own thoughts.
Week three launch class blogs.

Artificially create some some commenting rules.  Each person required to monitor & comment on two class blogs chosen at random by drawing them out of a hat.  ie a network, not a blogging group.

Decided: no shared blogs.

We will recruit some guests to visit.

We will be creating some code in our blogs so the lecturer can comment in private on a blog.  The black hat coming through sadly.  The lecturer wanted to be able to give private feedback, and grading information.  I'm afraid this will muddy the water as a learning exercise.  Blogs are a seedbed for creativity IMO but sadly we are in a world of grades and assessment.

And we will have fun.  :-)  "Can you buy good health?" "What is it's value?"  I'm going to learn a lot here.

-Derek

1. In another Moodle site I am in, there is a single page that shows all the attachments from a forum in one place.  Is there such a page here?  I was looking for the guidelines Michel put up on using blogs and assessment.

2. http://supportblogging.wikispaces.com/ has hundreds of blogs.
NONE on economics??
I'm seeing a staff member here at 4.30 who wants to use blogs this semester with an economics class.  Any suggestions?

-Derek

This I found in a blog today.
http://bp2.blogger.com
My friend at work wears a Tee Shirt "I'm blogging this"
Don't try to read too much meaning into this.

 

Derek. Courtesy of the http://blogs4beginners.blogspot.com/ blog